Tag: Denver National Convention

I just got back from the Pepsi Center and will upload my photos and video and some thoughts as soon as I download and edit them.

It was an exciting night -- especially since I ended up with a floor pass and was able to roam the entire Pepsi Center, from the bottom-most level where all the production stuff was going on to the club levels and private suites and the floor where the delegates sat and news networks were recording.

Caroline Kennedy looked absolutely goregous, as did Michelle Obama. On the way out I saw Theresa Kerry and asked to take a photograph, but it came out completely blurry. She looked terrific as well.

I also have video (if any came out) and will be back soon to post it all, along with some thoughts and sightings.

Jane of Firedoglake and I drove downtown, parked behind the Denver County courthouse and walked two blocks to the Sheraton where we picked up our DNCC press passes for Monday's convention events at the Pepsi Center. No lines, very speedy. Everyone has to pick up a new pass every morning. For security reasons, each day has a different pass.

Then we hopped on the 16th St. Shuttle Bus which dropped us off on the corner of the Big Tent and we picked up our passes there, also very speedy. Along the way I took a few photos:

No word yet what night or what event. Will he be the intro at Obama's acceptance speech?

More music: Lifetime Networks and Rock the Vote will feature Ashanti at an Every Woman Counts event Tuesday night at the Cowboy Lounge.

The big Rock the Vote ballot bash is Monday night, followed by a private party. FALL OUT BOY, N*E*R*D and Jakob Dylan will headline the main event at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, while the official afterparty will feature D.J. Nick Cannon.

I've been feeling sad that our good Dr. Hunter S. Thompson will not be in Denver next week to share in the craziness. I sure will miss reading his take on the whole scene.

My good friend Anita Thompson, Hunter's wife, who has been spending fall and winter in NYC to attend and study journalism at Columbia, is now blogging, in addition to her excellent Owl Farm Blog, at The Huffington Post. How'd that come about? [More..]

The arrest-processing center will operate from Aug. 24 to 31 and will be able to detain up to 400 people for short periods of time. The facility also will be able to process about 60 prisoners an hour.

It is expected that those arrested will only be held there for a few hours before being bused to their next stop: the courthouse.

There are a few wrinkles with this plan protesters should be forewarned about. [More...]

If you offered to volunteer for the campaign and already put in your hours, you're a shoo-in:

Obama supporters who agreed to volunteer for the candidate when they signed up for credentials — and actually fulfilled their promises — can rest easier, knowing they are set to receive "all-star volunteer seats" closer than other spectators, the campaign announced Wednesday.

As to those who signed up online without clicking the volunteer box, it's first-come, first-serve. More than 80,000 applied for 30,000 slots.

I get e-mails and press releases daily from protest groups asking me to "come to Denver" and join them. Here's the platform of one of them (I'll tell you which one at the end):

If you think no government should be allowed to do what the Bush regime has done the past 7 years, come to Denver and join others building a movement to that end.

If you are sickened by your government waging an endless, illegitimate, immoral war and occupation in Iraq, with ominous and immediate threats on Iran, and you demand U.S. aggression in the Middle East stop now, come to Denver and say it loudly!

The Denver Post interviewed Hillary supporters on why they believe it's so important to be able to vote for Hillary at the convention. It's not that they are in denial. It's that they want their voices heard. [More...]

Unconventional Denver, an anarchist protest group, says if Denver turns its $50 million security grant over to programs that help the people and calls off its occupation of Denver, it will sit the convention out.

Otherwise, they intend to show the Convention is just a bunch of corporations and lobbyists partying behind closed doors and a wall of heavily armed police. Their goal is to disrupt the spectacle. Democracy is not behind those doors, it's in the streets. That's where hope and change can happen. [More...]

Westword is Denver's award-winning, alternative, free weekly paper. It has a section devoted to the Democratic Convention, called Demver. Today's irreverent orientation video is by its "resident fake drunk cowboy" and friends at Wrist Deep Productions.

Given all the anger in the comments here today on serious subjects, hopefully it will make everyone lighten up a bit. This is an open thread.

Emily's List has just sent out a press release announcing that on August 26th at 2pm it will hold a gala reception at the The Sheraton Denver Hotel, 1550 Court Place in Denver, featuring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and "Special Guest" Michelle Obama.

A few weeks ago I beat Denver Post gossip columnist Bill Husted to the punch in reporting that Bruce Springsteen was free from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30 and could be coming to the DNC. Last week, I beat him by a day in reporting Kanye West, reggae/hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and the rap/rock fusion band N.E.R.D. were scheduled to perform at DNC events.

Today, Husted beats me with some DNC musical guest news I haven't heard about: The Temptations will be performing for three nights at a "mansion" near 1st and Humboldt in the Country Club area.

As to the Aug. 24 Red Rocks concert with Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind & Fire, Husted says even though Dave Matthews' people told him this weekend that Matthews is not scheduled to perform, he's convinced Matthews will be there.[More...]

The People's Law Project will provide pro-bono attorneys to help jailed protesters during the convention. The group will also staff a hotline where protesters can call for help and will field teams of neutral legal observers who will attend rallies and videotape protesters' interaction with police.

60 lawyers willing to volunteer their services met at the University of Denver today for a training session on how to defend arrested protesters.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has said the police have undergone training to help diffuse violence. Denver civil rights attorney David Lane, speaking at today's session, said police reaction to the protesters is key.